


Räuber-Beute Beziehungen

by Ceris_Malfoy



Series: Eine Wendung des Schicksals [2]
Category: Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: AU!G1 - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Dark, Gen, IDW/Cartoon Fusion, Older-than-dirt!Starscream, Pre-Earth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-21
Updated: 2013-01-21
Packaged: 2017-11-26 09:38:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/649187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceris_Malfoy/pseuds/Ceris_Malfoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Starscream helps Deadlock defect, and Deadlock learns his place in the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Räuber-Beute Beziehungen

Deadlock stared out at the cold, empty vastness of deep space as it passed him by, trying to ignore the equally cold, empty hole that was growing within his spark.

When he had joined the Decepticon cause, he had thought he was making the correct decision; that Megatron would lead them all to their rightful places within the society that secretly would have preferred it if they would've all dropped dead; that Cybertron would finally be made great. He had joined because Megatron was already the stuff of legends – the only mech to have been apprenticed to Lord Starscream and survived; the only mech who had been capable of taking the living nightmare of sparklings and younglings alike and bring him to bended knee.

_'Megatron'_ had been the name whispered cautiously in his audios.

_'Megatron will lead us to greatness.'_

_'Megatron will save us all.'_

_'Megatron will keep our sparklings safe.'_

So he had joined.

And now look at him: just another mech in a vast armada of them; a proud mech reduced to the petty theft of resources belonging to other races and the murder of those that refused to swear loyalty to the Decepticons. The murder and ruin of countless races weighed heavily on his spark, made him hesitant in battle and combative with his superiors. He had been transferred between units so often for insubordination that bordered closer and closer on treason that he had eventually been transferred to the _Xius_ , the ship containing the Decepticon's Second in Command and Air Commander, Lord Starscream.

The _Xius_ was currently en route to rendezvous with the _Nemisis_ for some planned battle or another, but in the meantime, Deadlock was stuck on board a ship with anywhere between thirty and seventy-three restless seekers, and the living-nightmare that was their Air Commander.

"Deadlock."

Deadlock jumped and whirled around, mentally berating himself. Of course Starscream would catch him just standing there when he had a shift to go to. Fear clenched his spark as he considered the thin ice he knew he was already treading – Starscream alone had his life in his clawed servos now, and he couldn't afford to be written up for disrespect, not if he wanted to live. "Sir! I'm sorry, Sir, I was just on my way to – "

"Leave it for someone else," the seeker interrupted. "There are enough restless seekers on this ship to cover for you." The Decepticon Second in Command smiled, and it was not at all reassuring.

Deadlock stilled. "Sir?" he asked, unsure about what this meant.

"Come with me, Deadlock. I think it's time we had a discussion about your future in this army." The Decepticon Second in Command turned sharply on his pede and walked gracefully down the hall, never once looking back, confident that Deadlock would follow.

And as he should be. Deadlock was a brilliant frontline warrior, capable of going hand-to-hand with most mechs without taking a single scratch of damage himself, but Starscream was in a league all his own. The only mech capable of bringing him down was Megatron himself, and even then, Megatron had to _work_ for it. Competant warrior that Deadlock was, he knew he didn't have a prayer of defending himself if he tried to run. So Deadlock followed, nervously, as the seeker led the way through the ship to a private meeting room off the side of the Control Bridge.

Once there, Starscream gestured towards a chair, silently demanding Deadlock to sit. He did so, watching nervously as the seeker picked up a lone datapad on the table, turning it on, and leaning casually against the wall.

"Deadlock: Decepticon frontliner. Training focused primarily on heavy combat, but trainee showed signs of aptitude in both field-medicine and military tactics. Served under seventeen unit commanders so far, transferred to mine because your loyalties are under suspicion." The seeker looked up from the datapad, crimson optics burning, but facial-plating blank and passive. "Have I said anything that is incorrect?"

"N-no, sir," Deadlock replied.

"Good. Honest when you know there's no purpose in lying. I like that in a mech. Shows you have a keen survival instinct." The seeker tossed the datapad onto the table, and then crossed his arms. "Tell me, Deadlock, why are you having second thoughts about your status as a Decepticon?"

Deadlock hissed involuntarily. How did Starscream…? "Sir, I… I'm not – " he tried to deny.

"And here I thought I had just praised you for your honesty," the seeker said, thin lips twisting in a wry smile. "Don't lie to me, Deadlock. I have lived quite long enough to be able to tell when a mech is lying to me, and I am not one to suffer being lied to patiently."

It was a warning.

"I'm sorry, sir, but – " But how could he admit to having treasonous thoughts to a mech that scared more mechs then _Megatron_ did?

"But _nothing_ , Deadlock. Let's put it this way, shall we? As of this moment, I am not your commanding officer. Nothing you say can or will be used against you, but only if you speak now. Do you understand?" The seeker's gaze was intent.

"Yes, si– Lord Starscream."

"Good." There was a moment of silence. "Now tell me, Deadlock, why do you doubt the cause?"

He considered denying everything yet again, in the hope that the seeker would believe him, but Deadlock doubted it. Starscream was known for many things, none of which was his mercy. Best just come clean and hope the seeker kept his word. Deadlock shuttered his optics, and vented softly. "I'm tired of it – of all the violence and all the pointless, unnecessary death. I'm tired of waging a war with no end in sight; I'm tired of slaying not only my race but the countless races of those that have nothing to do with us." And he was. He was so tired anymore, and there was no end to the war in sight. The Autobots were steadily getting just as bad as the Decepticons once were, causing the Decepticons to reach even greater depths of depravity and violence.

"This war…." Silence stretched between them, the seeker's gaze distant and somewhat…sad?

Deadlock watched the mech with something akin to shock and disbelieving wonder. His gaze caught sight of the Decepticon sigils marring those otherwise perfect wings. Most mechs had the sigils painted on while some of the more die-hard veterans had the sigils welded on in a series of thin metal plates. Starcream's wings, however, had been branded with Megatron's mark, and no amount of buffing or waxing in the world would ever hide the scaring around the edges of the sigil. The brands were a claim, everyone knew that - but was it possible that they more than that? Had Megatron not only brought the seeker to heel, but actually _tamed_ him? Had Starscream been existing on his reputation these many vorns? If so....

"I'm transferring you to another unit," Starscream said abruptly, cutting Deadlock out of his thoughts. "You will be placed under Officer Turmoil's direct command for an indefinite period of time. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Starscream."

"While you are there, you will do _nothing_ to draw attention to yourself – good or ill. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Lord Starscream."

"You will wait for a seeker by the designation of Switchgear to make contact. You are to do as he says, when he says to do it. Do you understand?"

"… _yes_ , Lord Starscream." And he did, too. Starscream was offering him a way out; a way that would not be traced back to the Decepticon's Second in Command. This 'Switchgear' was most likely a neutral of some sort, and to have survived this long, only Primus knew what he or she was capable of.

"Your official record will state that after close observation, the 'loyalty issues' were dismissed as the excessive paranoia of mechs that have been on the front line for too long, and that after spending several orns under the … _enthusiastic_ care of our seeker medics, you were eager to return to direct combat."

Deadlock was only a mech, and couldn't help the flare of his energy-field at the images Lord Starscream's words and suggestive tone produced. _Most_ seekers were notoriously easy to get into a berth, but seekers who've been cooped up in a single ship for close to three stellar cycles? Enthusiastic didn't even begin to describe what they would be like in a berth. But, still… "Why?" Deadlock finally murmured. "Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?"

And had he thought those symbols – _Megatron's branded mark_ – on Starscream's wings somehow made him _less_? If so, he had been a fool. Starscream's crimson stare sharpened, narrowed down on him, piercing him with a gaze that chilled his very spark. There was a deadly presence in the air, an overwhelming feeling of watchfulness and patience and endless hunger. There was no overt threat of violence, no outright feeling of anger or fury – and suddenly Deadlock knew that those were only the excuse of the weak to disguise themselves as the strong. Deadlock knew, abruptly and with perfect clarity, that regardless of the claiming mark that marred Lord Starscream's tempting wings, regardless of whose servo may be holding the seeker's metaphorical leash, regardless of how tame and ineffective the seeker may act, Lord Starscream was a predator amongst prey.

_He_ was prey, and it was not his place to question why he wasn't being hunted.

But Lord Starscream merely smiled a cold, grim smile that bared gleaming, razor-sharp denta that would have done a Sharkticon proud and did nothing at all to set Deadlock at ease. With that grim smile on his face, Starscream replied, almost casually, "Because it amuses me."

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally written before I got around to reading IDW's Drift, where they explain how things really went down. And despite that I did go through it and tweek it a bit, as far as things go on that end, consider this a major AU as far as canon events go. Though, considering that this is a part of an established AU, I supposed that's old news. Lol.
> 
> Title is supposed to read "Predator-Prey Relationships" in German. If it doesn't, please let me know.
> 
> Originally posted on Fanfiction.net on 9/25/11.


End file.
